West Riverside Energy Center

The West Riverside Energy Center is an important part of our vision to transition to a more balanced and diverse energy mix.

The West Riverside Energy Center is an advanced technology, highly efficient natural gas facility under construction near Beloit, Wis. The generating station will produce enough power for more than 550,000 homes when it goes into service by early 2020.

Economic benefits

The generating station construction is one of the largest projects in the state. This $700 million investment will create more than 1,000 total construction jobs per year between 2017 and 2020. The total economic benefits during construction are more than $250 million.

Meeting customers’ needs

This new facility will meet long-term customer energy needs and help replace power from the retirements of older, smaller and less efficient coal-fired and peaking units. It will also complement our growing investments in renewable energy. The generating station’s technology allows it to adjust up and down quickly to ensure reliability when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t shining.

Environmental impact

The West Riverside Energy Center will emit less than half the carbon dioxide (CO2), about two-thirds less nitrogen and 99% less sulfur and mercury than traditional coal-fired facilities. We’re also including an integrated solar field as part of the project. The clean energy from the sun will be delivered to the natural gas facility and offset its auxiliary power needs.

Sustainability

The generating station, and the 90-acre site it will be located on, is being designed with sustainability in mind to promote community, environmental and economic benefits.